Bill > S1812

This bill updates the criteria for identifying students with specific learning disabilities under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which is a law ensuring that students with disabilities receive free appropriate public education. Specifically, it mandates that the State's criteria must allow for the use of methods that assess a student's response to scientifically supported interventions and other research-based approaches, while phasing out the use of a "severe discrepancy" between a student's intellectual ability and their academic achievement as the sole determinant for identifying a specific learning disability, with this change taking effect in the fourth full school year after the bill is enacted. Furthermore, the bill prohibits using any single assessment method as the only basis for determining a specific learning disability or the appropriate educational program, and requires that evaluations be comprehensive, including an assessment of basic psychological processes to identify all of a student's special education and related services needs based on current evidence-based research and practice. The State Board of Education will create regulations to implement these changes.

Budget and Finance, Education

https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/S1812